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Las Vegas, NV — January 9, 2026
qBraid is proud to return as the official compute platform for the 2026 Global Industry Challenge (GIC), hosted by Connected DMV through the Potomac Quantum Innovation Center. The 2026 Challenge was officially kicked off today at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where qBraid Head of Business Development Brian Pearson was on hand to support the launch and engage with industry partners and participants.
This marks another chapter in qBraid’s ongoing relationship with Connected DMV — a partnership that began when qBraid won their startup pitch competition and has deepened year over year into a core platform role within one of the most ambitious applied quantum programs in the world.
The Global Industry Challenge is a practical proving ground where innovators from around the world form globally connected teams and build real solutions to high-value industry use cases using quantum computing and adjacent technologies, including AI. The inaugural 2025 edition brought together over 600 innovators from more than 60 countries as part of the International Year of Quantum.
The 2026 Challenge raises the stakes with expanded industry tracks, deeper technical engagement, and a showcase at Quantum World Congress 2026 in September, where industry partners and GIC winners will receive global media exposure and recognition.
qBraid plays a dual role in the 2026 Challenge. As the official compute platform, qBraid provides all finalists with seamless access to the full quantum hardware and software stack — spanning gate-based systems, annealing hardware, GPU acceleration, and simulators — through a single unified interface. No configuration headaches. No vendor lock-in. Just compute.
Finalist hardware access through qBraid includes:
qBraid is also a challenge co-host on the Dynamic Systems Forecasting track, partnering with MITRE and JonesTrading on a use case focused on Quantum Reservoir Computing for Time-Series Intelligence. Teams will design and benchmark QRC systems for real-world forecasting challenges including financial volatility prediction and climate and weather time-series — directly aligned with qBraid’s own published research in this domain.
The 2026 GIC targets four high-impact sectors with industry-defined use cases:
The challenge is open to participants worldwide and runs on two core platforms: Aqora for team formation and submission, and qBraid for compute access.
Applications are open now. If you’re a researcher, developer, entrepreneur, or industry expert ready to work on real quantum problems with access to leading hardware — this is your moment.
👉 Learn more and register at pqic.org
Questions? Reach the Connected DMV team at quantum@connecteddmv.org
About qBraid
qBraid is a hardware-agnostic quantum computing platform with over 27,000 developers. With partnerships across IonQ, QuEra, IBM, Rigetti, Atom Computing, AQT, and Microsoft, qBraid brings the full quantum hardware ecosystem together through a single, unified cloud interface. Learn more at qbraid.com.
Hackathons
10
Min read
From October 21st to November 5th of 2022, qBraid hosted HAQS, one of the most popular quantum computing events of the year, where participants from around the world worked on solving a total of five quantum computing challenges during the two weeks of the event.
Product
1
Min read
Intel® Quantum SDK is generally available on qBraid Lab for Free with no installation necessary
Product
1
Min read
Dive into the intricate interplay of the Bernoulli line and the Bloch sphere, revealing profound geometric insights into quantum state dynamics.
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Collaborations
2
Min read
Loom, the quantum error correction library from Entropica Labs, is now available on the updated qBraid Lab Explore page.
Collaborations
3
Min read
qBraid Pilots is now available on AWS Marketplace, giving enterprises a familiar procurement path to access expert-guided quantum algorithm development powered by Amazon Braket.
Collaborations
2
Min read
Access AQT’s IBEX Q1 on qBraid Lab, enabling researchers and developers to run experiments on fully connected trapped ion quantum hardware
Collaborations
3
Min read
qBraid is proud to return as the official compute platform for the 2026 Connected DMV Global Industry Challenge, announced at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Collaborations
3 minutes
Min read
qBraid has been selected by IBM to host their annual Qiskit Global Summer School for the second year in a row.
Collaborations
5
Min read
As an early adopter of the NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip systems, qBraid provides unparalleled access to today’s most advanced computing technologies.
Collaborations
1
Min read
Explore the advantages of cloud-based quantum computing and how it is revolutionizing research and development across various industries
Collaborations
1
Min read
Discover how quantum computing is revolutionizing enterprises, from enhancing cybersecurity with quantum encryption to optimizing complex logistics and supply chain operations.
Collaborations
5
Min read
qBraid’s quantum computing platform adds access to 256 qubit neutral atom quantum computer, Aquila by QuEra.
Collaborations
5
Min read
qBraid and Quantum Algorithms Institute partner to accelerate the pace of quantum computing in British Columbia and beyond.
Collaborations
4
Min read
The qBraid platform will allow users to play with Pulser in a matter of a few minutes.
Hackathons
3
Min read
qBraid served as the official platform for iQuHACK 2026, MIT's 7th annual quantum hackathon, powering 1,400+ participants across 76 countries for the 5th consecutive year.
Hackathons
5
Min read
As part of QHack, qBraid is providing the best quantum developer notebook environment experience for challengers.
Hackathons
10
Min read
From October 21st to November 5th of 2022, qBraid hosted HAQS, one of the most popular quantum computing events of the year, where participants from around the world worked on solving a total of five quantum computing challenges during the two weeks of the event.
Hackathons
5
Min read
At this year's QCHack, participants attended a week filled with amazing talks, 1:1 sessions with academic and industry mentors, and a 24 hour hackathon hosted by Stanford, Yale and Berkeley.
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Hackathons
4
Min read
The potential of the field of quantum computing is so huge that everyone in the field cannot wait for all the promises that the field holds to become a reality.
Research
4
Min read
qBraid researchers Tarini Hardikar and James Brown presented four talks at the APS Global Physics Summit 2026 in Denver, spanning molecular simulation, quantum education, and aerospace applications.
Research
5
Min read
IEEE has awarded qBraid and its collaborators 1st place for the Best Paper Award in the Quantum Algorithm Track.
Research
1
Min read
qBraid's team used hybrid classical-quantum algorithms to determine the best flight path
Research
1
Min read
Learn how classical sampling methods, such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo, can estimate truncation errors in simulating bosons on quantum computers, aiding resource assessment and result validation for quantum simulations, including applications in two-dimensional lattice scalar field theory.
Press Releases
3
Min read
MIT News featured qBraid as a startup providing a nontechnical gateway to coding on quantum computers, highlighting the platform's mission to democratize access to quantum hardware and software worldwide.
Press Releases
2
Min read
qBraid wins NSF POSE grant to build open source ecosystem
Press Releases
10
Min read
qBraid and NVIDIA CUDA-Q are removing the two biggest blockers to AI4Quantum research
Press Releases
8
Min read
Our first cohort of the qBraid Alliance, a partnership with student organizations at leading universities around the country.
Press Releases
5
Min read
Coming from IBM Quantum Lab? Learn how to start using qBraid Lab
Press Releases
10
Min read
The Bloch develops quantum technology solutions for society’s most pressing problems by accelerating industry adoption to drive research commercialization, catapulting US leadership in quantum information science and technology.
Press Releases
5
Min read
Our newest podcast series
Press Releases
5
Min read
qBraid will lead a team of researchers from MIT, UChicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and QuEra to develop quantum computing solutions for studying the interaction of metals and intrinsically disordered proteins.
Press Releases
Min read
OSU uses qBraid for accessing Intel Quantum SDK
Press Releases
5
Min read
qBraid provides agnostic connections to quantum computers and simulators thanks to Amazon Braket
Press Releases
10
Min read
Duality Quantum Accelerator Accepts Six Startups into Inaugural Cohort
Press Releases
1
Min read
Take the QuBes (Quantum Beginners) course to learn quantum computing.
Press Releases
5
Min read
qBraid aims to increase accessibility to, and interoperability amongst, quantum computing resources.
Product
3 minutes
Min read
Supercharge your quantum workflows with GPUs on qBraid
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Product
5
Min read
We are pleased to have presented qBraid’s Platform-Agnostic Open-Source Tools at the Quantum Computing Devroom in FOSDEM 2025.
Product
5
Min read
Accelerating hybrid workflows using Pennylane's embedded simulators with NVIDIA GPUs on qBraid Lab.
Product
5
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Here are 3 ways to install python packages on qBraid
Product
2
Min read
How to install Cirq v1.2.0 environment on qBraid Lab
Product
1
Min read
Let qBraid help you take your first step into the quantum world!
Product
1
Min read
Intel® Quantum SDK is generally available on qBraid Lab for Free with no installation necessary
Product
1
Min read
Dive into the intricate interplay of the Bernoulli line and the Bloch sphere, revealing profound geometric insights into quantum state dynamics.
